Divya-Aman’s middle-class family in ‘Moh Maya Money’ is probably the only kin which might be thanking its stars for the demonetization scenario. Despite the fact that it was written over a year ago, the film’s plot is sure to benefit from the times it’s releasing in as the country is literally swept away in the note ban tide. The perpetual loop of earning black money and facing a severe cash crunch in scenarios like these makes ‘Moh Maya Money’ earn a brownie point.
Munish Bhardwaj’s directorial debut is a taut crime thriller – basically a transition of a white collar crime into a more pensive one. It narrates a relevant story – explores corruption and malpractices in the real-estate industry and gives you a glimpse - an extreme one though - of what the affected people must feel like.
The film begins with the story of a middle-class couple – Divya and Aman. The husband is a real-estate agent, who wants to break out of the rut and make it big, even if it takes some petty moves and serious scams while the wife is a producer in a news channel who’s keen but not furious to earn big bucks. The husband tries to persuade his wife for a minor deal but looking at her denial, he goes ahead on his own and keeps her in the dark – until one day when things go wrong and he’s caught. Kicked out of his job, money-lenders after him for their money but no one to help – he himself devises a plan to come out of the crisis and the story goes on. While this was husband’s side of mess, wife has her own yarn going - choosing between career and family, morally right decisions or practical moves and some well-kept dark secrets weave her point of view.
Ranvir Shorey is probably one of those very few actors who’ve aced the ‘dilli-waala’ character and nailed the ‘dilli-antics’. Whether it’s his broker accent or his ‘jugaad toh kar hi lege’ attitude or even the natural walk, he is pitch perfect in what he does. As an emotional scum, Ranvir as Aman, shines throughout the film and holds his ground. His vulnerability comes across as a natural feeling that anyone losing his entire wealth would go through, his jealousy towards the end does pure justice to his character’s emotional quotient and his laid-back walk is just the right symbolism of what the director wants to convey.
Neha Dhupia, as a confident working woman has her high points in the film. She’s unattached to her husband, yet not fully closed emotionally. Despite being a party to the scam and her character trying to hold the ethical ground – comes as an opportunity for Neha to showcase her acting potential. The scene where she completely breaks down and picks herself back in a jiffy is the moment you know she owns her character.
The fact that Ranvir and Neha make a good dysfunctional couple on-screen has been used well by Munish. The build-up is slow and follows a non-linear narrative but the suspicion cloud surrounding their married life earns from it. Another plus of this film is the way Munish has used Delhi indicative of their minds' turmoil- such as when Neha is rushing for abortion, she goes through vamp lanes, probably symbolising the deeper conflict in her thoughts.
The first half keeps you invested but the second half gets you meandering pretty quickly. It gets a little over-dramatic with a bunch of twists and turns thrown here and there - the moment Ranvir’s character goes to buy a gun, you get to know where the story is heading. To the maker’s credit, the sound effect only enhances the narration and not for once works as a distraction.
All in all, the film is a good watch and worth your new notes but be prepared for a tad-bit drama. And needless to say, the topicality and the timing, by the virtue of PM Modi’s ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes couldn’t be more perfect.
Rating: 2.5/5
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